The pound was the currency of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing colony, self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The reg ...

. It also circulated in

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesi ...

and

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

. The pound was subdivided into 20 ''

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

s'', each of 12 ''

pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

''.

History

From 1896, private banks issued notes denominated in

£sd £sd (occasionally written Lsd, spoken as "pounds, shillings and pence" or pronounced ) is the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies once common throughout Europe, especially in the British Isles and hence in several countries of the ...

equal to sterling. In 1932, a distinct coinage was introduced. In 1938, the Southern Rhodesia Currency Board was established and took over the issuance of paper money the following year. Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland joined in 1953 to form the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia and the B ...

, which continued to use the Southern Rhodesian pound until 1955 when coins were introduced for the Rhodesia and Nyasaland pound. 1955 also saw the Southern Rhodesia Currency Board renamed the Central Africa Currency Board. In 1956, the first paper money of the Rhodesia and Nyasaland pound was introduced, completing the transition.

Coins

In 1932, .925 fineness silver coins were introduced in denominations of 3d, 6d, 1/–, 2/–, and 2/6. These were followed in 1934 by holed, cupro-nickel d and 1d coins. In 1942, bronze replaced cupro-nickel, whilst the silver coins were debased to .500 fineness in 1944 and replaced by cupro-nickel in 1947. Coins were issued until 1954. In 1953 a 5/– coin of .500 fineness (.45 ounce actual silver weight) was minted to commemorate the centennial of the birth of

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Bri ...

. 124,000 were produced for circulation, plus 1500 minted as

Proof coinage Proof coinage refers to special early samples of a coin issue, historically made for checking the dies (as in demonstrating that something is true) and for archival purposes. Nowadays proofs are often struck in greater numbers specially for co ...

Banknotes

In 1896, the

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

branch of the

Standard Bank of South Africa Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg. History ...

introduced the first Southern Rhodesian banknotes, in denominations of £1 and £5. This bank later issued 10/– notes. The Bank of Africa,

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

and the National Bank of South Africa also issued notes. These private bank issues ended in 1938. In 1939, the Southern Rhodesia Currency Board introduced 10/–, £1 and £5 notes, followed by 5/– notes between 1943 and 1948 and £10 in 1953. In 1955, the Central Africa Currency Board issued notes in denominations of 10/–, £1, £5 and £10.

References

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External links

, - {{Pound (currency) Currencies of Africa Currencies of Rhodesia Modern obsolete currencies Currencies of the British Empire Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations 1940 establishments in Southern Rhodesia 1956 disestablishments in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia Nyasaland